New Hyundai Pallisade 2023 comparison calligraphy review

 

Hyundai successfully spun off Genesis as a bona fide luxury brand, so the automaker no longer has the pressure to build ritzy versions of its mainstream lineup to appeal to those aspirational customers. Still, that doesn't mean Hyundai is wanting for superbly well-equipped models with some luxurious flair. The flagship 2023 Hyundai Palisade SUV is offered in a range-topping Calligraphy trim, which decks it out with many fixings that are usually reserved for luxury-badged products like, well, Genesis. As impressive as it appears on paper, we wondered how upscale the Palisade is in the sheetmetal. That's what we set out to determine during our weeklong road test.As the top trim in the range, the 2023 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy comes loaded with a ton of features and stuffed with high-quality leather seating. Despite checking the boxes for luxuries such as a heated and ventilated front- and second-row seats, automatic driver's seat bolster adjustment, and a suede headliner, the interior design is very subdued. The silver-on-black color scheme in our test car was fairly dour and uninspired compared to other vehicles in the three-row segment like the Honda Pilot or Kia Telluride. It could use more theater, in other words. The drama stops with the Calligraphy trim level's name, which winks at Land Rover's bespoke Autobiography models.